Upright-piano case



(No Model.)

W. A. LORENZ.

' UPRIGHT PIANO CASE. No. 365,695. Patented June 28, 1887.

llml M u UNITED STATES PATE T CFFICE.

WVILLIAM A. LORENZ, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR' ONE HALF TO HERMANBEHR', OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

UPRlGHT-PIA'NO CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,695, dated June 28,1887.

Application filed April 6, 1 857. Serial No. 233,908; (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. Lonnnaof Hartford, Connecticut, haveinvented an Improvement in Upright-Piano Cases, of which the followingdescription and claim constitute the specification, and which isillustrated by the accompanying sheet ofdrawings.

This invention relates to that class of upright-piano cases which areconstructed with an opening between the upper edge of the front and thefront edge of the top of the case; and it consists of -a resonantchamber or sounding-box placed on thetop of the piano and provided witha swinging panel, which operates both as a sounding board and as adeflector of waves of sound.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper part of my new piano-case.Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3is a section on the linea b of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section on the same line, but with the panelopen. Fig. 5 is an enlarged end view of one of the springpivots uponwhich the panel swings. Fig. 6 is a section of Fig. 5, looking towardthe left from the line 0 cl of that figure. Fig. 7 is a section of myinvention, showing the panel in one modified form; and Fig. Sis asection of my invention, showing another modified form of the panel.

The numeral 1 indicates the top of the piano case, while 2 denotes thefront thereof. The back of the piano is indicated by the numeral 3,while 4 is the rear wall of the soundingbox,' and 5 is the swingingpanel in the box. The sides of the piano-case are denoted by the numeral6, and the sides of the sounding-box by the numeral 7 A molding, 8, maybe fixed to the under side of the top 1, ora molding,9, may be fixed tothe upper side of the panel 5, so as to limit the view into thesoundingbox when the panel is closed. One of the felt strips 10 receivesthe blow of the rear edge of the panel when it is thrown open or isclosed, and may be so adjusted as to prevent the front edge of the panelfrom striking either the top or the front of the piano-case. The springpivots 11 and 12 engage with steps 13 in the ends of panel 5, and arefastened to the sides of the sounding-box 14. The molding 15 may.

be fixed to the upper end of the piano-back or to the lower side of thepanel, so as to limit the view into the sounding-box when the panel isopen. Openings 16 may be made through the rear part of the panel 5, andits operation as a soundingboard be thereby somewhat modified.

The mode of operation is as follows: lVhen the panel is closed, as inFigs. 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8, the sounding-box 14 constitutes a resonantchamber on top oftheupright piano,in which the sound-waves find room tovlbrate,instead of being confined, asin other constructions ofupright-piano cases, to narrow spaces not specially provided for suchvibration, and the panel constitutes a sounding-board in that chamber,and when the panel is open it constitutes a deflectingboard, whichthrows the sound-waves out of the opening between the top 1 and thefront 2.

The panel may be pivoted to the top 1 or the front 2 or the back 3 orthe side 6,instead of-to the side '2; but incither case I prefor to usespring-pivots, so that the panel may be readily removed and replaced.

The moldings 8, 9, and 15 may be omitted, and those portions oftheinterior thus exposed to view may be finished to correspond with theexterior, or otherwise, as preferred. So, also, the panel may be muchmodified in proportions and much varied in form, and one good example ofsuch variation is shown in Fig. 8, where the pivots are placed near theunder side ofthe top 1, and the forward part of the panel is curveddownward, so that its front edge rests adjacent to the front 2 when itsrear edge rests against the under side of the top 1.

The sounding-box may be made separate from the rest of the piano-case,as shown in Figs 3 and 4; or it may have its sides integral with thesides of the main case, as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8.

The interior height of the sounding-box may be varied to suit differentpianos; but for small instruments a height of seven or eight inches isprobably the best.

I claim as my invention-- An upright-piano case having the sounding-box14 at the upper part thereof and pr0- vided with a swinging panel, 5,within the sounding-box, and operating as a soundingboard when closedand as a deflector of sound when open, all substantially as described.

Signed April 5, 1887.

XVILLIAM A. LORENZ. \Vitnesses:

ALBERT H. WALKER, H. R. WILLIAMS.

lOO

